Antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of common Nilgiri barberry (Berberis tinctoria Lesch.) from south India

In this study, the potential of Common Nilgiri Barberry (Berberis tinctoria Lesch.) fruits as nutraceutical/functional food, polyphenolic contents and the in vitro antioxidant and antihemolytic activity were determined. The phenolic content (TP) of the fresh fruits is 410 ± 0.082 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100g and total flavonoid content (TF) is 320 ± 0.120 mg quercetin equivalents (QE)/100g. The methanol extract exhibited scavenging capacity towards 1, 1 – diphenyl – 2- picryl hydrozyl (DPPH∙), superoxide anion, hydroxyl ion radicals and nitric oxide. The TEAC of fruit extract ranged from 1.063-2.364 mM TE/g. The extract also exerted strong reducing capacity and had strong Fe^3+ chelation (EC50 45.24 ±1.42 μg mL^-1), and remarkable reduction of erythrocyte hemolysis (EC50 71.1 ± 0.22 μg ml^-1). Positive correlations were observed between polyphenolic contents and the antioxidant capacities. In conclusion, the Barberry fruit from India, endowed with polyphenols, could be a potential source of for the development of natural antioxidants/nutraceuticals.